Nevada’s “New” Brothel Industry Rises from the Sagebrush

(Jeremy Lemur) – Will 2020 be the year of the sex worker? As a movement to decriminalize prostitution gains unprecedented traction in New York and Washington D.C., and Democratic hopefuls such as Kamala Harris and Tulsi Gabbard speak openly about their support of sex workers, the 2020 presidential election may be the first to include the decriminalization of prostitution as a talking point.

Just this month, Democratic lawmakers in New York State introduced a highly publicized bill that seeks to make it legal to engage in the consensual sale of sex. If more states follow New York’s lead, sex worker rights will certainly become a key issue during the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

With Nevada’s unique status as the only state in the union that has successfully legalized prostitution in the form of regulated brothels, Nevadans can expect the eyes of the nation to be on them as pundits look to a bona fide, time-tested example of legalized prostitution in America.

This past year, Nevada’s sex industry faced its own political challenges.

In 2018, anti-sex work activists sought a referendum to ban brothels in Lyon and Nye counties and, in early 2019, a bill aiming to shut down the state’s licensed bordellos was introduced in the Nevada Senate. Furthermore, the brothel industry’s most famous spokesperson, controversial Moonlite Bunny Ranch owner Dennis Hof, died suddenly in October, creating a perceived void in pro-brothel leadership.

In a cosmically appropriate way, Hof’s death occurred at the perfect time. He went out on top, brilliantly executing the last in a long line of publicity coups: running for Assembly and not only beating established politicians in the Republican primary, but also winning the seat posthumously.

Perhaps more significantly, Hof died during a sea change in the country and in Nevada. The women-empowering #MeToo movement was running full tilt and Nevada’s Legislature was about to make history as the first with a majority of female lawmakers. It was time for fresh voices to surface, and they did.

In the wake of Hof’s demise, a “new” Nevada brothel industry was revealed – the real brothel industry. An industry made up of the hundreds of women that practice their trade as sex workers and female sex industry leaders throughout the state.

Shortly after Hof’s death, the female proprietor of Bella’s Hacienda Ranch in Wells, Nevada formed an advocacy organization, the Onesta Foundation, with a mission to provide sex industry awareness and education.

A refurbished Nevada Brothel Association was also established. Founded by three women, two legal sex workers and the current owner of the Bunny Ranch, the association pushed hard against the anti-brothel campaigns, holding town hall meetings, championing the merits of legal prostitution through blog posts and social media, and generally making it clear that Nevada’s sex workers will not be silent when their livelihood is questioned.

Madams and sex workers from brothels like the Mustang Ranch and Sheri’s Ranch rose to the occasion and defended their position at legislative hearings and via news outlets.

These women prevailed triumphantly. The brothel ban referendum in Lyon County was rejected by 80 percent of voters and a similar effort to ban brothels in Nye County failed to get enough signatures on a referendum petition. The ill-fated bill to criminalize brothels statewide also foundered in the Legislature.

As 2020 approaches, and sex workers across the United States bravely fight against tremendous stigma for the right to lawfully practice their trade, Nevada’s ever-evolving legal prostitution experiment nears its 50th year. Thanks to the women who are (and always have been) its lifeblood, the Silver State’s sex industry appears as contemporary and forward-thinking as ever.

The women of Nevada’s brothels just might influence legislators in other states to seriously consider changing laws pertaining to the consensual sale of sex because lawmakers can no longer ignore the power of sex worker voices in Nevada and throughout the nation.

Mr. Lemur is a communications professional and legal prostitution advocate living in Henderson, Nevada. In the past decade he served on staff at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, Sheri’s Ranch, and other brothels in Lyon and Nye counties.

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Suzette Cole, CEO, Moonlite Bunny Ranch

“Prostitution is the oldest profession and will not go away. Nevada has been doing it right since 1971 when we took it out of the criminal’s hands and put it into a highly-regulated industry. As an added benefit, there has never been a case of HIV/AIDS in the history of legal brothels here…and you can’t say that about any other profession in the United States.”

John Stossel, Syndicated Columnist

“We don’t have to cheer for prostitution, or think it’s nice, to keep government out of it and let participants make up their own minds. It’s wrong to ban sex workers’ options just to make ourselves feel better.”

Steve Chapman, Syndicated Columnist

“Prohibition doesn’t eliminate the harms generally associated with prostitution, such as violence, human trafficking and disease. On the contrary, it fosters them by driving the business underground.”

Christina Parreira, UNLV Researcher/Sex Worker

“Sex work is my CHOICE. I’d like to continue to have the opportunity to make that choice legally. We don’t need protection. We’re consenting, adult women.”

New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried

“Trying to stop sex work between consenting adults should not be the business of the criminal justice system.”

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker

“Yes, sex work should be decriminalized. As a general matter, I don’t believe that we should be criminalizing activity between consenting adults, and especially when doing so causes even more harm for those involved.”

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders

“I think the idea of legalizing prostitution is something that should be considered…(and) certainly needs to be discussed.”

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris

“When you’re talking about consenting adults, I think that, yes, we should really consider that we can’t criminalize consensual behavior, as long as no one is being harmed. … We should not be criminalizing women who are engaged in consensual opportunities for employment.”

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren

“I believe humans should have autonomy over their own bodies and they get to make their own decisions.”

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

“If a consenting adult wants to engage in sex work, that is their right, and it should not be a crime. All people should have autonomy over their bodies and their labor.”

Gov. John Hickenlooper

“Legalizing prostitution and regulating it, so there are norms and protections and we understand more clearly how people are being treated and make sure we prevent abuse, I think it should be really looked at.”

Mike Gravel, former Alaska Senator

“Sex workers are workers, and they deserve the dignity and respect that every worker deserves. For too long, we’ve denied them that. Sex workers, not politicians, should lead the way in crafting sex work policy.”

Prof. Ronald Weitzer, George Washington University:

“Unlike illegal street prostitution in many other places, Nevada’s legal brothels do not disturb public order, create nuisances, or negatively impact local communities in other ways. Instead, they provide needed tax revenue for cash-strapped rural towns.”

Prof. Barbara Brents, UNLV author, “State of Sex”:

“Teams of scholars…have concluded that Nevada’s legal brothels provide a far safer environment for sex workers than the criminalized system in the rest of the United States.”

Prof. Sarah Blithe, UNR author, “Sex and Stigma”:

“Discussions of legal prostitution are rife with misinformation. Academic work and popular press publications alike often conflate legal prostitution in the United States with illegal prostitution.”

Lee Herz Dixon:

“Do I think eradicating legal prostitution from all Nevada counties will erase the practice of the oldest profession in the state, or break the nexus of drugs, crime, and exploitation of the vulnerable? I do not.”

Journalist Michael Cernovich:

“It’s empirically proven that criminalizing sex work allows children to be sex trafficked more readily as they are afraid to turn to authorities and wonder if they will be arrested.”

Enrique Carmona:

“We need to put aside moralistic prejudices, whether based on religion or an idealistic form of feminism, and figure out what is in the best interests of the sex workers and public interest as well.”

Ruby Rae, professional courtesan

“In the brothels, we have the choice, always, to say which clients we will say yes and no to. We have staff that would never let a man hurt us, and we have a clientele that do not come here to hurt us.”

Kiki Lover, professional courtesan:

“We are human beings who chose to do sex work on our own free will. We get treated with respect and like family at the brothels. It’s a job just like any other job. We sell a service that all humans need.”

Paris Envy, professional courtesan:

“I’m not ‘exploited.’ I’m not ‘trafficked.’ I’m not ‘brainwashed.’ I don’t need to be ‘saved.’ I’ve freely chosen this line of work, which is a legal, private transaction between consenting adults.”

Alice Little, professional courtesan:

“It’s ILLEGAL sex work that exploits children. It’s ILLEGAL sex work that traffics. It’s ILLEGAL sex work that sees women exploited and abused by pimps.”

Jim Shedd, Nevadan

“Prostitution should be licensed, regulated, taxed like any other service industry. There are many single or widowed men and women who should be able to take advantage of such services provided by consenting adults for consenting adults. Let’s act to at least reduce illegal sex trafficking and other sex crimes by creating safe and legal outlets for paying adults who wish to use them.”

Paul Bourassa, brothel customer:

“Some people are just never given a chance in the dating scene, so brothels offer those of us with no experience a chance to learn what it’s like to be on a date.”

Lewis Dawkins, brothel customer:

“It’s not always about sex. Little compliments and encouragements offered by the ladies help build my self-confidence. It’s a business, yes. But the ladies care personally about their clients. That means a lot.”

Brett Caton, brothel customer:

“I think brothels provide an important function in society. Legal ones give a safe outlet to their customers and for some men it is the only way they get so much as a hug.”

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Mission

The Nevada Brothel Association PAC is a coalition of legal brothel owners, brothel workers, brothel clients and brothel supporters dedicated to defending a woman’s right to choose professional sex work as a career, protecting the public’s health and safety, and preserving Nevada’s rich live-and-let-live heritage.